IronFilm

I'm in the same boat. I work for a non profit, so it's a steady 9-5. But I love the work, most of the projects are my own creations, so videos I can get somewhat excited about. My salary is modest, but steady. We drive a 14 year old vehicle and live in a 900 square foot house in the country. No debt other than the mortgage. Most of my work is from home in a small mini barn I converted into an office/studio. It's amazing the peace you can find from living a simple lifestyle. Our income is pretty small compared to many these days, but we live really comfortably. Owning things in cash, buying used, and not trying to keep up with the Jone's can go a long way in building a comfortable life. 

It’s a hypothetical(fictitious neighbourhood. I actually live at the end of a country lane with 2 other small cottages and no Porsches to be seen! 😉

And that is about the sum of it…
A. How many competitors for your specific services are there?
+
B. How good/unique are you within your marketplace?
=
Being employed or not.
Actually there is a C. which is how good are your business and marketing skills as they are as, if not more important?

This sounds a bit like a short film that I recently helped shoot, but where I wasn't DP.  The DP was solid, but the director seemed really inexperienced.  I showed up a couple of times to shoot when the DP wasn't available and before we shot, I said "Ah, we should get the Tentacles connected to everything for timecode" and the director said to just shoot it.  I asked about the slate and he said that we'd just clap for sync.
"Alright, but the editor is really going to hate us, without a slate or timecode."
Sure enough, I'm now being asked to pull a bunch of selects from hours of footage to send to the editor because they got overwhelmed and annoyed when presented with a mountain of non-timecode footage without a slate to identify which take, etc.  It also didn't help that the footage for one scene had no camera audio due to my unforced technical error (we'd plugged someone else's Rode Wireless Go into the Ronin 4D during the previous scene and I'd toggled the left/right audio inputs to external vs the internal mic, I forgot to switch it back on the next day when we shot and didn't use the Wireless Go again).
Anyway, at least now I hope that the director has learned that you will pay a lot more in editor time/goodwill later if you don't take the minimal time to hook up timecode and use a slate on set.

So it might not be ‘sexy’ but the average salary for a train driver in the UK is approx double my salary.
And you get paid to go on strike whenever you feel like in order to petition for even more pay.
Yup, that is the world we live in.
It’s mostly been that way actually as in one where very few creatives actually make any real money and the financial benefit is usually in favour of having more regular employment.
 

I know it's bad to generalize but I want to open 2025 by doing so.
What is happening in the video, happened ten years early in computing and more specifically in the web. Huge numbers of people have had access to devices and skills that were previously restricted to a few people. Let's call it democratization, that is, a downward availability of resources. A fundamentally good thing that has triggered processes of competition and lower prices for customers.
But if we look at the issue from the point of view of those who have (or had) an IT company with employees or maybe even freelancers but not off the books, the issue also had negative effects: any pimply nerd from his bedroom would make you a website at bargain prices that you with your company would never be able to offer.
You will say, yes but the quality suffers. Yes we agree. but how many customers appreciate it or are able to tell the difference? for every wise customer there are ten who rush to buy at the lowest price and who gives a shit if the results are crappy.
Now, in my reasoning, replace computers with video cameras and software engineers with filmmakers.
Does that make sense?

Interesting post. I'm not familiar with him, but he's in my city (Portland, OR) and I ride the Max often.
As a full-time freelance videographer for the past ten years, I just did my end of year accounting for 2024 and I can officially say that my income has been on a downward trajectory since the pandemic. Video production is just not considered a specialty skill anymore. 2023 was so bad that I almost threw in the towel. 2024 was better, but still barely a living -- probably around half of what my friends with office jobs made. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, I'm currently underperforming the average income for other videographers in my area by a wide margin, but I have to wonder about the accuracy of their numbers. A lot of my local colleagues have been exiting the industry just as Airview has. People with genuine talent.
One trend I've been noticing in the past couple of years is that I'll show up with a car packed with lighting, multiple cameras, dolly track, etc. and yet some of my clients will often just tell me to hurry up and get the shot with no lighting or movement. And then we wrap early, which is nice. But overall, I feel like my work has been going downhill and this is really bothering me.
And then there are discussions like this taking place on Reddit, so I know that I am not alone.
Overall, I'm pretty discouraged and I need to figure out whether to ride it out or try something new.

Don't want to start 2025 with a negative post, but I saw this depressing new year resolution today:

Nothing wrong with being a train operator, but we're at a point that being a train operator is a better career option than shooting pro video with RED cameras. 

ah, a new UWA lens just came out:
https://www.newsshooter.com/2024/12/26/pergear-12mm-f2-ii-wide-angle-lens-for-x-e-z-and-m4-3-mount-cameras/
At US$169 it might be the cheapest f2 UWA lens there is. 

This is my primary question!
5DIII in RAW (esp with ML dual ISO to boost dynamic range by many stops) is something magical, to be sure.



However, the 5DIII JPEGS are also magnificent in their own way -- I keep one lying around just for the JPEGS. Somehow this camera has a miraculous ability to hold onto highlights, even in JPEG mode.


Nikon D200 CCD in RAW. It uses a Sony CCD so it's better in some ways (highlight retention and rolloff) versus the Kodak ones, but worse in others (less interesting colors). Still magical, though. I keep one lying around:

One that is often overlooked is the Ricoh GXR M-mount module. While it may share the same sensor as the X100 and Nikon D90, but it is geared a little differently.... more muted colors (except for reds), and somehow crazy good for B&W photography. Seriously, using any RAW converter (LR, rawtherapee, darktable, filmulator, all of which I've  used), you convert any RAW GXR images to B&W and it's... incredible!




Lastly, of course... the Leica M9, my primary camera for these last few years and to this day. Lately, I find that Darktable's recently introduced "Sigmoid" process is very tender with the M9's harsh highlight clipping issues, the sensor's greatest downfall. 



 
P.S. 
I think Andrew mentioned this, but the 5DII is SUPER magical, more so than the 5DIII, and right up there with the M9! I have a 5DII laying around too, but don't have any photos available. Once again, using ML's dualiso module to boost the dynamic range and this thing is just produces cinematic photos like nothing else I've ever seen! Focusing on the 5DII is and always will be an unreliable pain, though (even if just using the central point). 
P.P.S
Nikon D700 in RAW! What an incredible sensor! Delicate highlight rolloff (and lots of information there); great organic colors and lowlight performance.
 

The mirror on DSLRs is for the optical viewfinder. It flips up to expose the sensor for exposure so no has no impact on actual image quality. That said you are not crazy and older cameras including 5DIII have a certain mojo. To me its a factor of things, but mainly the pairing of older lenses such as EF with older sensors. Color science has also evolved with each generation towards more neutral look. Also all the lens corrections in newer mirrorless give a more clinical image. 
I miss my 5DIII and will pick one up again not just for stills but for ML Raw. None of the RAW options now seem to capture such rich colors/image.

As far as native Fuji X mount lenses, I’ve been loving the videos by Stefano and seeing his creative use of focal lengths. He knows his way around his X-H2s and I love his derezed color grades. 
 
Fuji 56mm and Viltrox 13mm are both at the top of my list now. The 13mm is huge but that close focus and having a wide angle with shallow DOF is such a trippy look. 
56mm f/1.2
https://youtu.be/lQsgQqNslPg?si=tA0cM5FHCGqHrvq8
 
13mm f/1.4 
https://youtu.be/JkX-QCdr5No?si=60nfv2lEZaw3JlWn
 

yeah, I just meant cameras in general like Lumix and Fuji getting better. Also that the new X-M5 is rumored to have even better AF than the updated  X-H2s now. 
Yes exactly. There’s no free lunch. You can buy a $25, 1960’s rangefinder camera and figure it out or you can pay someone who has already done it. Or you can pay $4,000 US to get a custom cinema level rehousing done. Of course people are charging a lot because it’s a relatively new development and hasn’t gone mainstream with an off the shelf solution. Plus anything with a Leica M mount involved is going to be 10X the price. I’ve seen a few Fuji X mount conversions for under $100, lens included but you just have to keep your eyes open.
 
I’ve bought up almost all the Japanese rangefinders I’ve found interesting minus a couple rare ones I’m still hunting for. Working on an elegant solution and 3D printing some test mounts in the new year so I’ll keep you posted. Meanwhile some of these are worth getting now while prices are good and even if you haven’t figured out the mount you want to go with. 
 

My G.A.S. (Gear Addiction Syndrome) tells me that I would like to buy a new 1000 Nits monitor. That I would like to buy a Pana Leica 8-18mm with a 180mm crystal dome and related gear.
Actually, since video is not my job but just a strong passion, I would just like 2025 to bring me time, lots of time to devote to my passion and do some filming that I have not been able to do just because of sheer lack of time.
To film these corals at a depth of 70 meters takes a lot of time and dive buddies who are willing to be with you and wait patiently while you macro for 20 minutes standing still in one spot.
To make this minute of video I had to make two dives lasting over three hours each against only 30 minutes to film. the first dive with a Lumix 12-35mm for the wide shots and the second dive with a Pana Leica 45mm macro for the coral details.
Happy new Year
 
 

Are you ready for the announcement of a new class A+++++ air conditioner which will save the planet?
Save the date: January 7, 2025
 

I feel that's a fairly fixable issue within the next few short years. You'll use a reference image that the generated video needs to adhere to. 

Don't think my old Fujifilm X-A3 counts as "reliable autofocus"! 😭
Never too late to start a new YT channel! I might just start up a YT travel channel myself if/when I move overseas next year. 
The 7artisans 12mm f2.8 lens I've got would be a good choice for vlogging, although I went for this 7artisans largely because I got it for next to nothing secondhand.  If you're buying brand new then the Meike 12mm f/2 is only slightly more expensive than the 7artisans 12mm f2.8, but the Meike is a full stop faster which might be handy sometimes.
Ahhhh.... so you can't get them in any rangefinder mount? (such as M mount) But rather than need to be removed from a fixed lens camera then get a mount added to it? (such as M mount)
When I was looking through eBay beforehand, I did come across those with mounts already added to them, but they're at least a couple of hundred dollars! (if not even double, or tripple, or even quadruple that price)
Seems a bit pricey, when I could get vintage / dead mount DSLR lenses for a similar cost, or even far far less. 

Just got the S9 from airport, that 15% discount on tax on top of promo discount is pretty good value, and given it is only NZ$100 more for the 20-60 kit so I got this combo instead of the 18-40 which cost $1000 more 😂 ( another ridiculous pricing from Pana)
I m thinking getting the Meike 35mm F2, should go well with 20-60mm. 

First you might like to watch this video on Mr Beast's youtube channel, so you get to see what the end result looks like:
 
Then check out the behind the scenes, of how it got made:
Check out the camera plan (well, one of the camera plans) they show thirteen minutes into it (yes, that's one THOUSAND GoPros):
 
 
Two more BTS videos about this same YouTuber production series:
 
 

First you might like to watch this video on Mr Beast's youtube channel, so you get to see what the end result looks like:
 
Then check out the behind the scenes, of how it got made:
Check out the camera plan (well, one of the camera plans) they show thirteen minutes into it (yes, that's one THOUSAND GoPros):
 
 
Two more BTS videos about this same YouTuber production series:
 
 

An interesting example of what's possible with AI now in the hands of a talented film maker. Every shot of this film was done via text-to video with Google Veo 2. It took thousands of generations to get the final film, but no VFX, no clean up, no color correction has been added: everything is straight out of Veo 2. All sound design, editing, music and prompting by Jason Zada.
But remember, people shouldn't be looking at where we are at currently.
But rather they should be looking at the trajectory.
What could AI video generation do 25yrs ago vs 10yrs ago vs 5yrs ago vs 3yrs ago vs 18 months ago vs 1yr ago vs 6 months ago vs today? It's very rapidly improving! We're doing today what was utterly unimaginable a few short years ago. What does that mean for tomorrow, or six months, or three years or six years from now?

ohhhhh.... I'd never even looked into those lenses. (how should I search for them on eBay? How do I specifically restrict the search just to half frame rangerfinder lenses?)
I guess due to them being rangefinder lenses, they must not have been too popular during the DSLR era at all. (as DSLR mounts are too deep)
And being half frame lenses I guess the mirrorless FF shooters don't want them either. 
Would be perfect however for Fujifilm shooters. 
Only just starting lately to dabble in using my old Fujifilm X-A3 as a casual stills camera I can carry with me most times whenever I feel like it (I want something compact / light / cheap / decent, I think the X-A3 with APS-C lenses fits the bill here). 
 
So thus I recently put together a very cheap Fujifilm lens kit of native X mount lenses:
7artisans 12mm F2.8 II (Manual Focus)
Sirui 21mm f1.2 (Auto Focus)
TTArtisan 25mm f2 (Manual Focus)
Vivitar 56mm f1.7 (Auto Focus)
(I half wonder if the 21mm f1.2 lens was a mistake, was using it for the first time on Christmas Eve, and it was a lot bigger and heavier than I imagined! Perhaps a bit too much so for the little X-A3? Maybe I should have got the TTArtisan 27mm f/2.8 lens instead)

First you might like to watch this video on Mr Beast's youtube channel, so you get to see what the end result looks like:
 
Then check out the behind the scenes, of how it got made:
Check out the camera plan (well, one of the camera plans) they show thirteen minutes into it (yes, that's one THOUSAND GoPros):
 
 
Two more BTS videos about this same YouTuber production series:
 
 

75% Film stuff and 25% photos is my norm. I have 0 native Fuji lenses but have the Kipon M42 - X speedbooster as well as the Konica - X adapter also the Minolta AF - X adapter so I have a lot of my vintage glass needs met. Metabones makes a Minolta AF - X speedbooster but it’s pricey at $450. Still… I have the whole set from 16mm - 200mm and it’s really amazing glass. I’ll get a few native lenses for autofocus but probably just a couple wides. 
 
What I’m most excited about is the Blazer Nero 1.5x Anamorphic adapter which looks great on APS-C and will be a perfect match to the 6.2k open gate raw. That’s a monster of an image for the price.
 
I also have a whole set of 1960’s Yashica and Mamiya rangefinder lenses that I’m slowly converting to Mirrorless. A few of them were “half frame” lenses that shot two images per 35mm frame. These fit APS-C perfectly and are nice F/1.4 lenses. So yeah, lots of options LOL.
what are your favorite Fuji X lenses? I’ve heard great things about the 16mm and older 35mm f/1.4. 
 
 

There’s also still a couple LUMIX S9 bodies on the Japanese auction sites I frequent. Good deal, open box for around $925 after the 10% off sale. It was tough to choose between the X-M5 and the S9. The S9 feels like a really good buy if you get it below $1,000. I want to play around with the X-M5 though and figure they may end up becoming hard to find where as the S9 will probably be available cheap in the coming months. The only thing I’m wondering about is the lack of IBIS on the Fuji so we’ll see how it handles. If I don’t like it I’ll sell it and get the S9.